I got ear molds today for my Signia AX (the small little transparent hard plastic molds) and my audiologist spent a good while fitting them. We even did a to get the settings right. After the lengthy fitting, the still sounded tinny and robotic, so my audiologist went ahead and made some more changes. After more than a hour and half, I ended up leaving, hoping that it would sound better in my usual situations.
Spoiler - It did not. With these ear molds, everything sounds super sharp/aggressive and low at the same time. It’s as if the high frequencies were over amplified and the lows were muffled, resulting in a lower speech comprehension and uncomfortable sound. Turning the sound up on the app only results in a more uncomfortable experience.
Even some sounds I heard when using domes are gone using ear molds.
One thing to note is that it kinda sound better when I press on the side of my ears (right above the ear canal - cheek side).
I have a regular ski-slope hearing loss (very mild loss on the lows and moderate to moderately-severe loss on the highs)
Before that, I had a and it sounded great, the only issue that made us switch to ear molds is that it kept sliding out of my ears (and the size above the one I had was too big for my ears).
Is this experience normal for newly fitted ear molds or are they simply badly manufactured/fitted ?
Very interesting that your only reason for switching the domes was that the other ones kept sliding out of your ear canal. Yeeesh. I have the same thing going on with my silicone double-domes on top of a Phonak Marvel speaker. I am having a custom mold made of softer silicone tho, which will be in on 7th July. So I can let you know if that kind of custom mold fits better and STAYS seated in the ear canal.
It sounds like you either have a prob with the aid itself (not a top-end brand!) or with the new mold. Maybe it needs more/less venting? It’s trial and error, and I can totally appreciate your challenge, cuz it’s YOUR time and the audi’s. Even so, you have to be absolutely persistent and relentless, cuz you’ll be the one living with these.
Sound is so personal and nuanced that only the wearer can tell if it’s acceptable. No matter what the or any other test indicates about how the aids should be set up, it’s never DONE till the person wearing them says, “AHHHHhhhh!”
Good luck and keep us posted on whatever solution makes these aids liveable for you. The fact that you say they sound better pressing on the outer area of the canal seems to indicate FIT is not right. You either need new impressions taken or look into the venting.
Sorry to hear that experiences with new ear mold not went well for you.
From what I 've read, it’s pretty obvious bad mold is made. You told us you can hear a better sound when pressing somewhere cheek-side of the ear. This is probably a mold issue.
You should go back to your audiologist and tell them about the issues. Ask for re-mold even if its cost you to wait for a week or two. If ear mold is still incompetent and bad made. You may consider a 3rd party company that can make a competent mold for you.
If you can’t really solve the issue. I recommend you go back to and deal with it. It should be better that way.
I can’t comment on sound because only the wearer can tell if it’s good or bad for them. But don’t be disheartened if its sound not good at first, because its taking time to adjust to a new setup.
By the way, I will share my experiences with ear molds and domes. My case was kinda weird and the opposite.
I have good experiences with ear mold, no issue so far. Until later, I ordered a new pair of receiver and dome setups. I find that I can heard soft sounds better! I was like “what the…!?” Why ear molds can’t hear it? why do domes hear it!?
No, ear molds were not bad; its sound good and fine. Just domes setup gave me a surprise because I could hear the sound I never heard it before in my life.
This is extremely weird experience. I use ear molds all the time. This is the first time I use domes. I loved both. I still use both setup. But now I stick to domes setup because I can hear the sound more than ear molds. Weird!
I tried power domes and thin tubes and always found I heard better when I pushed the tube closer to my head. No matter what size tube I used.
I get way better sound through ear moulds. I just got some new ear moulds and the fit is amazing. I find getting good ear moulds is 70% down to how well the audiologist can do the impression. Over 30 years of wearing ear moulds, I’ve realised that very few audiologist can do good impressions, in my experience. This may not be the case with other people.
I described my first impression with custom molds as “turbo charging” my aids. I walked away stunned that I was finally hearing sounds I hadn’t heard in years. I had the same issue with domes in the right ear, they would always back out, even using 3 different manufacturers aids/domes over the years. Now no backing out and no leakage. I use no vent in my bad ear. Mine don’t sound tinny at all. I suspect your molds are leaking low freqs because of a prossible bad fit. Maybe ask to confirm the software is set to custom molds and the correct vent size you are using. You can also try different size vents. Mine use various plugs with different size vent holes. Mine are the hard acrylic type and seal really well while being very comfortable.
I would ask to have the impressions completely re-done.
I don’t agree that your aids are not top end aids. They are very good and considered top end aids by most, and many users are very happy with them. Sivantos (Rexton, Widex, etc.) purchased Siemens who then released the Signia brand. Their Charge & Go AX 7 aids are very advanced and definitely top end imho.
The is not a magic solution despite what it can sometimes be said in here.
From what you said in your message “With these ear molds, everything sounds super sharp/aggressive and low at the same time. It’s as if the high frequencies were over amplified and the lows were muffled”.
To me it looks like it’s a dynamic compression issue. The use a multicanal compressor. “sharp/agressive” = too much compression in the high frequencies bands. “lows were muffled” is the same thing.
When you press on the side of your ear , it opens the ear canal and create a vent, so low frequencies lose amplification. It can make the sound clearer.
The earmold modifies the acoustic response in your ear canal. That’s why your audiologist did a REM. He had two choices.
First => modify the amplification to fit the prescription target chosen.
Second=> modify the amplification to fit the amplification you had with the .
So your audiologist has severals way to solve what’s happening with the earmold.
=> take the second solution of the REM, to modify the amplification to be the same as with the closed dome if he has the measurement.
=>If he knows how to modify the multicanal compressor he can modify it. If he doesn’t know and you were happy with the previous fit, he can just create a vent or make it bigger. Or he can just lower the general volume of the HA.
It is just some things that could be done, I don’t know your or what’s the fit in your hearing aids but seems a really common issue.
Before that, I had a closed dome and it sounded great, the only issue that made us switch to ear molds is that it kept sliding out of my ears (and the size above the one I had was too big for my ears).
Have you tried just using conchalocks on the receivers?
Wow, plenty of thorough answers, thank you all for taking the time !
@1Bluejay : I had the impressions taken over a month ago, and when I first tested the ear molds, they were leaking sounds and creating terrible feedback. My audiologist told me that they were going to redo them using softer silicone but ended up getting the same plastic ones, but redone. Please let me know how the softer silicone experience go for you when you get them !
The itself is the Signia 7AX, it was the best/most expensive (unfortunately, this often means better in the HA world) the audiologist had to offer and the sound I had with was awesome, sounded very natural. I’d even go as far as saying it almost gave me back my normal hearing! So I don’t really believe the HA are at fault here, but I’Il definitely go back and get the molds checked again.
Though, one thing I might have done wrong during the impressions is that I possibly moved my jaws a little during the process. I don’t know how much this might impact the molds.
@hass5744 : molds are not sliding, domes were sliding a lot. Yes, the adjustments surprised me as well but I had a bad experience from the start when trying the settings I had with domes.
@mami2529 : your experience with domes is quite how I’m feeling now, definitely hearing more sounds without ear molds. I also share your opinion and think my molds were done incorrectly, I’Il bring up the issue with my audiologist asap ! I’m glad you’re having good experiences with both molds and dome though !
@Zebras : I kinda have a similar experience when pushing the wire on my (with domes) higher up - sounds slightly better. The change is not as significant as when pressing on the outer part of the ear with domes but I still feel it. I blame the shape of my ear canal, the audiologist already stated multiple times that I had a very narrow ear canal, which may explain why the molds aren’t successful.
@mr.smithster : wow, I’m happy that your ear molds are improving your hearing that much. Wish I could get to that point as well ! I’m going to talk to my audiologist about the vent size, I don’t remember asking about this.
I think the software is definitely set to molds though, we spent a terrible amount of time fitting them, she probably wouldn’t have missed this point ! My molds look almost like yours though, except they are significantly narrower, but that’s probably due to the shape of my ear canal.
I agree, the Signias are great. I can’t really compare with other brands since I’ve only done Signia so far, but they definitely sound natural and offer plenty of fitting options/great connectivity.
@Samuel-Audio : Hi Samuel, thank you, those are great explanations, I’Il keep them in mind when going back next week. I’Il keep this thread updated on what happens next !
@Dutch_Audi : No I didn’t. I actually had them offered to me when I first got my HA fitted but denied them. I totally forgot about them but it might be an option if the molds end up not working for me !
I have always been encouraged to move my jaw around while the mold is being formed in my ear. Unfortunately the technician who uses the impression to make the mold could be having an off day or doesn’t do very good work. Who knows
Yes, me too from my first audi; second audi never said “boo” about it. But when I had the impressions done the other day, I snuck in a small mouth movement, cuz you never know! Maybe it will help with the fit. These should be a soft-like custom mold, so I’m hoping that will also take up the ear canal space and prevent feedback leakage.
I was told to be still and not to move my jaw while the impressions were hardening. Wonder if there is a correct standard procedure for all impressions or each mfg has their own instructions and procedures? Mine fit immediately with zero adjustment to the molds needed. My audi asked Resound to produce my molds with a slightly light fit for some reason (i saw his notes), although they seem to fit very snug. Maybe no movement and a light fit is his way of making the impression? He did give me a choice of silicone or acrylic but I defaulted to his and Resounds’ recommendation for my loss which was acrylic. The silicone molds had a little “kick stand” looking lock to keep the aid in place. Mine dont, and only back out a tad when removing my mask and I bump my aids.
